Read It's Always Darkest Before the Fridge Door Opens: Enjoying the Fruits of Middle Age for Free Online

you that the number one problem they face has nothing to do with theological differences. It involves people problems. Here are three ideas for dealing with problem people in your life.
    1. Learn from them. The driver who cuts us off in traffic provides an excellent opportunity for us to resolve never to cut someone else off. The cranky boss who loves to chew us out shows us how not to treat others if ever we are in charge. And the person who simply refuses to be agreeable or even to agree to disagree teaches us how to adapt and move on. So send them each a thank-you note for helping you become a stronger person. Okay, maybe not. But don’t let such opportunities be wasted. Don’t let them wear you down; let them build you up instead.
    2. Pray for them. When Jesus said in Luke 6:27–31 to love your enemies, he also advised us to ‘‘pray for those who mistreat you.’’ We have both discovered the incredible power of praying for those who have wronged us. We’d tell you more about it, but they may be reading this book and know where our cars are parked.
    3. Show them grace. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that a little bit of jerk resides in us all. We all need piles of pardon and plenty of patience and a daily bath in grace. So why not extend to others the grace we would want extended to us? Some of the softest people we know have the gruffest exteriors. Beneath sandpaper personalities may be someone who needs to witness a little grace, acceptance, and forgiveness themselves so they can quit being so judgmental of others. So go ahead and, whenever possible, do your best to wage peace.
    Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
Abraham Lincoln
    He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend;
provided, of course, he really is dead.
Voltaire
    1 I do not know to this day if this is an inside stewardess joke. It took them a while to bring our drinks, so I bet they locked themselves in the cockpit to laugh about it.

Unfaithful Friends
    A true friend is one who overlooks
your failures and tolerates your successes.
Doug Larson
    It is in the character of very few men
to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.
Aeschylus
    Friends. When you find good ones, they’re worth their weight in gold. As the old saying goes, ‘‘Friends know you’re a good egg even though you’re slightly cracked.’’ Friends will stay by your side when everyone else runs away, or cheer for your successes and weep for your disappointments and hurts. Friends will watch your back when you don’t even know there are incoming arrows. Friends know you better than you know yourself. Friends will laugh with you and let you grow. Friends will let you know when you’re emotionally stuck over a hurtful situation or relationship. Friends won’t let you fail or get off track. Friends will encourage you and let you vent. Friends will pray with you. Friends will join you in blowing your diet, then help you get back on it! Friends will let you doubt. Friends will feel your pain. Friends will remind you of your worth every time you forget it. And there are those really close friends who will tell us when there’s mustard on our chin.
    So how do you know the difference between a good friend and a bad friend?
Desirable Friend
Undesirable Friend
Invites you to dinner.
Invites you to dinner . . . at a different restaurant than where he’s eating.
Buys some doughnuts and shares them with you.
Buys some doughnuts and shares them with you. He eats the doughnuts, you get the box.
Sends you a birthday card.
Sends you a belated birthday card that lists old songs you’ll be able to identify with now . . .
    B. J. Thomas—‘‘Hair Plugs Keep Fallin’ Off My Head’’
    Roberta Flack—‘‘The First Time Ever I Slipped a Disc’’
    Johnny Nash—‘‘I Can See Double Now’’
    Celine Dion—‘‘My Heart Will Skip On’’
    Adriana Caselotti—‘‘Someday My Gout Will Come’’
    The Bee Gees—‘‘Saturday Night